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SETI: PAST PRESENT, AND FUTURE (FINDING ALIENS AND FINDING OURSELVES)

July 30, 2014

On August 5, join longtime Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute Director Jill Tarter for an exploration of the program’s past and future as it seeks to answer the question: are we alone?

July 30, 2014 (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) – Are we alone in the universe? For decades, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute has sought to answer this question. On Aug. 5, longtime SETI Institute Director Jill Tarter will take a public lecture audience on the journey through SETI’s past, present, and future, as it tries to answer history’s most tantalizing question.

Part of the International Conference on Women in Physics, Tarter’s lecture, called “SETI: Past, Present, and Future (Finding Aliens and Finding Ourselves)” will discuss new collaborations and ideas, such as detecting information-carrying photons, or developing a “genomic SETI.” She will also explore why, in a world of instant communication and short-term thinking, it’s more crucial than ever to undertake and support decades-spanning research into what Tarter calls one of the most profound human undertakings imaginable.

Tarter holds the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. She holds a PhD in Astronomy from the University of California, Berkeley, and has served as Project Scientist for NASA’s SETI program, the High Resolution Microwave Survey, and has conducted numerous observational programs at radio observatories worldwide.

Tarter’s work has brought her wide recognition in the scientific community, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Aerospace and two Public Service Medals from NASA. In 2004, TimeMagazine named her among the Time 100 most influential people in the world. She was the inspiration behind the character of Ellie Arroway in Carl Sagan’s novel Contact, and the subsequent film starring Jodie Foster.

This lecture will be held in the Bricker Academic Building at Wilfrid Laurier University on Tuesday, August 5, 2014, at 7:00 PM ET.

About Perimeter Institute

Perimeter Institute is the world’s largest research hub devoted to theoretical physics. The independent Institute was founded in 1999 to foster breakthroughs in the fundamental understanding of our universe, from the smallest particles to the entire cosmos. Research at Perimeter is motivated by the understanding that fundamental science advances human knowledge and catalyzes innovation, and that today’s theoretical physics is tomorrow’s technology. Located in the Region of Waterloo, the not-for-profit Institute is a unique public-private endeavour, including the Governments of Ontario and Canada, that enables cutting-edge research, trains the next generation of scientific pioneers, and shares the power of physics through award-winning educational outreach and public engagement.